‘The Supreme Court heard the case of Mitsui & Co Ltd & Ors v Beteiligungsgesellschaft LPG Tankerflotte MBH & Co KG & Anor [2017] UKSC 68 in which it considered whether the expenses occurred by a vessel during a negotiating period with pirates are allowable under Rule F, which covers additional expenses, of the York-Antwerp Rules 1974. This is the first time the English Courts have considered the meaning and application of Rule F.’

‘On 14 June 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its long-awaited judgment in Stichting Brein v Ziggo BV (C-610/15), concerning the activities of controversial file-sharing platform The Pirate Bay (TPB).’

‘A ground-breaking new initiative targeting online piracy brings together the creative industries and leading search engines under a voluntary code of practice to tackle copyright infringing sites. The deal, brokered by the UK Intellectual Property Office, with the support of Ofcom and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, will involve collaborative work to demote search results that link to illegal sites. There will be ongoing technical consultation and information sharing to improve the process and adapt to change.’

“Internet users who are suspected of illegally downloading copyrighted material will not be sent warning letters about their behaviour until the second half of 2015 at the earliest, the Government has confirmed.”

“A cargo seized by pirates and subsequently recovered after being ransomed by the shipowner was not ‘irretrievably lost’ within the terms of section 57(1) of the Marine Insurance Act 1906, even though some might regard the payment of a ransom as morally objectionable and it was something the owner was not required to do.”

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